'President Lincoln' among lilacs for sale in Lombard

Roughly 400 lilac bushes of 18 varieties will be for sale for $25 each during the annual Lombard Garden Club Lilac Sale from Thursday, May 9, to Saturday, May 11, in Lilacia Park, 150 S. Park Ave.Bev Horne | Staff Photographer

Taking place the second weekend of Lombard's famous Lilac Time, the three-day sale features 18 cultivars of lilac bushes for $25 each.

The club has about 400 plants to sell -- 300 newly potted last month, and 100 that already have matured a year under care of the club and the Lombard Park District, said Darlene Bartt, a garden club member and Lilac Sale co-chairwoman.

The nation's 16th president may be among top sellers to Lombardians and out-of-towners alike, she said.

"We're very excited that we have President Lincoln this year; that's a very popular one," Bartt said.

Garden club members will be selling their lilacs from -- where else? -- Lilacia Park, 150 S. Park Ave., as the group raises funds to beautify Lombard civic buildings, historic landmarks and prairies and provide scholarships to area students.

The sale runs from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 9; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, May 10; and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 11, and Bartt said she's optimistic for good selling conditions and a pretty park atmosphere.

"This year, I'm really more excited about it because it's a late spring and I think by the time we do our sale the park will be, maybe not in full bloom, but in bloom for sure," she said, giving her best predictions for the 83rd annual Lilac Time festival.

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